Tormented have been purveyors of old school Swedish death Metal played from the heart and smeared in blood and guts since 2008. Their intention, to play death Metal that they want to hear, something that I believe is the best approach to any musical creation.

'Death Awaits' is their second full length and follow up to their 2009 debut release ' Rotten Death'.

Right from the opening notes on 'Death Awaits' the sound is crushing; the pounding drums , dirty distorted riffs, and harsh yet clear vocals all of which I love and then the lyrics...

"As the hour of doom approaches, raise your hands to the pestilent sky, sinking deeper into the grave that is the world, there will be no shining light as you die... Death Awaits"... Excellent!

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Stepping the pace up a gear for 'Blood Orgy', another great, catchy track and it is difficult not to sing along, as with most of these tracks. The next, 'I.O.T.D', (Incantations Of The Dead) has a slower, drawn out, anticipatory, opener, but then the pace picks up you have another great catchy, dirty riff-rich, track and one of the longer ones with a few tempo drops and a few sinister segments worked into the mix.

The whole album follows a simple but effective and winning formula so every track has that wonderfully memorable catchy element. On 'Insane With Dread' I loved the slower riff segments laid over the top of the faster drum work.

The longest track of the album, 'To Spill Her Blood', has a dark extended opener which filled me with anticipation, the pace is slower and the overall feel is dark and sinister particularly the lyrics, with a spiralling riff that runs throughout the track, everything drops away at the four and a half minute mark to just bass, simple yet so powerfully and darkly emotive.

Powerful drum work awash with crashing cymbals opens 'Funeral Fire'. The drum work is very good throughout the album, but I thought it particularly impressive on this track. A great little sound bite opens 'Into The Crypts Of Death', then the ominous repeat riffs begin, a track that in places, has quite a dark, doom laden feel at times, a delightfully deathly number. Much faster from the start, 'Black Sky', is a dark tale of Armageddon.

The final track 'In The Presence Of Death', another of the longer tracks and another that builds beautifully with an extended intro; every remaining bit of effort, energy and inspiration is piled into this final number, a beautifully phrased track, a dirty repeat riff that is really catchy, some superb drum work and the ever present excellent, harsh vocals.

I absolutely loved 'Death Awaits', from beginning to end it is well written, classic Swedish death Metal at its best, something I will be listening to for a long time to come. There are some albums I can't get enough of and this is one of those.